Love Addict's RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 68 (Patreon)

Later than I meant to get this up. I'll try and do the Zoe edits tomorrow.

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Friday, February 24th

Oliver awakened the following day to the smell of breakfast, which was weird, considering he lived alone. Sitting up and checking the disturbance, his tired eyes revealed no cause for alarm. Only an artificial man in his kitchen cooking up a storm.

“Good MORNING, [Best Friend]!” Bradley’s distorted voice warbled out of his throat. “I arrived precisely at [Seven on the Dot] for OUR scheduled [Strategy Meeting], and you would not OPEN the [Door]! Thus, I took the [Liberty] of letting MYSELF in and got to [Work] on readying your [Nutritional Intake]!”

“I see you also took the liberty of assuming I wouldn’t mind the breaking and entry,”

“Do YOU?”

“…At this point? No, not really.” Oliver sighed. “So what’s on the menu?”

After shambling out of bed, throwing on a shirt, and sitting at his table, Bradley served a plate of breakfast biscuits and some coffee. They weren’t made from scratch but whipped together from store-bought stuff that Oliver’s Free Ride skill provided. Still good, though. It just made him miss Mia’s cooking.

Bradley picked up something was amiss, stating, “I know that my skills ARE lacking compared to [Second Heroine turned First Girlfriend Mia Rosas], but I shall ENDEAVOR to improve and pack your NEXT meal with as MUCH [Love] as I can muster!”

“…I think you packed in more than enough, thanks. Don’t worry about it.” Oliver gave him an appreciative- if weary- smile after finishing the last biscuit. “Speaking of love, though,”

Next came the detailed breakdown of yesterday’s events. Oliver told his right-hand man everything he’d glossed over last night, barring lewd stuff as usual. He stressed how different things were with Zoe since he’d made his anxious call yesterday morning and even informed Bradley of last night's intel gathering.

The synthetic smile on Bradley's face widened at every word.

"I STILL can't tell you ENOUGH how proud I AM to see you accepting your [Bigamist Inclinations]!"

"Yeah, well... I couldn't swim upstream forever..."

"So just to [Clarify], you do NOT deny your interest in [Fourth Heroine Zoe Myers]?"

"...No, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on Zoe. I'll be making an honest attempt to casually raise her affection, and it won't just be for Mia's sake."

"Excellent, Oliver! MOST excellent! With that in MIND, I shouldn't have to [Stress] how important this weekend IS for your [Progression], yes?"

"Yeah. Mia's close to her third Heart Event, and I might get Zoe to her first sometime in the next couple of days, too. I feel a little sorry that I won't have much time to do anything with you, though..."

Bradley looked at him strangely. "Why feel SORRY? My role is to SERVE as your trusty [Support Character], which means fading into [The Background] whenever I'm unneeded! You've got a weekend ripe with [Romantic Potential] ahead of you, Oliver. I should be the LAST thing on your mind!"

"I feel sorry because your uncanny ass has somehow managed to become a source of comfort for me. I like having you around." Oliver confessed.

The strange look was replaced by another smile and a pair of finger guns. "Worry NOT, for I am ALWAYS just around [The Corner]!"

"For the sake of my mental health, I'm going to assume that wasn't meant literally..."

"It both WAS and WASN'T!" Bradley winked, making Oliver reconsider about finding him comforting. "I appear WHEN you require [Help] or when things need [Doing], my FRIEND. You will SEE me this weekend if EITHER of these [Scenarios] occur. Otherwise, I'll be staying OUT of it! Focus on the [Task at Hand], Oliver. Deepen your [Relationships], gain [Love Points], and don't PAY me so much as a [Stray Thought]! Understood?"

Bradley's words confidently afflicted Oliver's heart, pumping him up for the weekend ahead.

"Got it. Anything else before we wrap this up?"

"Yes, actually! I DID have a [Small Idea] I wanted to float!"

"Shoot,"

"Have you by ANY chance PERUSED your [Purchasable Skills] to see if there's ANYTHING that might help alleviate [Mia's Wrist Problem] in the [Short Term]?"

"No, I haven't," Oliver cupped his chin. "I was planning to, but yesterday was pretty hectic and it must've slipped my mind after I got home. Was there something specific you wanted to suggest?"

"Indeed there WAS! Nothing fancy, only the [Tier One] SKILL, [Massage]!"

“Good idea,”

Oliver booted up his skill menu and located Massage Lv. 1. He didn't need to familiarize himself with it, as Massage was a skill he'd always planned on acquiring sooner or later since it felt like giving a good massage was something any good boyfriend should know how to do.

“It says that it’s a smarts skill,” Oliver noted. “Been meaning to ask about that. Will putting more points in smarts actively make me more intelligent, or is it more like the wisdom stat in an RPG?”

“[Wisdom] from [Dice Rolls and Dungeons] is a good WAY to look at it, YES!” Bradley confirmed. “It’s related, but NOT a clear indication of [Intelligence]!”

“Well, that makes me feel a little bit better about having zero, then…”

“It’s probably for the BEST that [Smarts] is not outright [Intelligence], anyway!”

“How do you figure?”

“You are ALREADY a [Chronic Over-thinker]. Think of how much WORSE things would be if YOU developed a [Genius-Level Intellect]!”

Oliver froze, imagining the scenario and dreading what he saw. “Yeah, might’ve dodged a bullet on that one… thanks for the suggestion, though. I’ll go ahead and get up to level two of Massage since even if it doesn’t end up helping Mia out, it’ll still make for a good investment.”

He hit the buy button twice in rapid suggestion, getting him what he wanted.

[Skills Purchased! Massage Lv. 1+2 -75LP]

[Massage Lv. 2 | * | Smarts | Idle hands are the devil’s playthings, so why not learn how to put yours to good use? Grants intermediate knowledge of massage techniques and gives you the skills to perform them. +1 to Smarts.]

[Gained +2 to Smarts!]

Oliver’s brain rattled around as it sucked up the requisite knowledge from wherever it came from. Once it finished, he looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists several times. “They feel a little bit more dexterous, but I guess I won’t know for sure until I get a chance to try it out.”

“All in [Due Time]!” Bradley beamed, proud to have given a good suggestion. “Now, WHY don’t we go and GET ready to [Exchange Labor for Dollars], my FRIEND?”

“Might as well,” Oliver shrugged and went through his morning routine while Bradley tidied up around the place. The two then waited until 7:45 before warping to Payless Foods with Oliver’s powers, leaving a little early in case Mia was already there.

They made it to the employee’s lounge with plenty of time to spare. Of his coworkers who mattered, Stacy wasn’t currently present, but Mia was. She appeared grumpy this morning and didn’t notice him as he approached. Too busy scrolling through her phone.

“Hey,” Oliver called out to her. “Everything okay?”

“Mn?” Mia raised her head, then stuffed her phone into her pocket. “Ah. Morning, mi amor… and friend. I’m fine. Just a little headache.”

“Good MORNING [Miss Rosas]!” Bradley bowed as if he were a butler.

Usually, people didn’t react when Bradley did weird shit or spoke over-enthusiastically, but Mia shut her eyes upon hearing his voice and rubbed her forehead. “You too, Brad… mind giving us some space? You’re… too much for me right now…”

“Can DO!”

Mia winced at Bradley’s voice and was relieved to see the guy go off and mingle with their other coworkers. She was even more pleased when her boyfriend stepped forward and took her hand.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No, it’s not a big deal. Just didn’t sleep good…” Mia sighed. “Should clear up after an hour or two.”

“Fair enough. I didn’t sleep great, either.”

“No?” She squeezed his hand, making him blush. God, Oliver loved having a girlfriend. “And why’s that?”

“I gave one of Zoe’s streams a shot last night like you suggested. One thing led to another, and I guess I'm now an official fan..."

“Mn. She’ll be happy to hear that. Knowing you, I’m assuming you got a little too into it?”

“It was like I blinked, and four hours of my life suddenly disappeared…” Oliver sighed, feeling very small. “What's your excuse?”

"Artist's block," Mia grumbled, rubbing her aching forehead. "Sat down to work and nothing came to me. Thought I'd try and force my way out of it, but that didn't go so well."

"Aw, that sucks. Does this happen a lot?"

"No, so I get pretty frustrated when it does... I'll be fine, though. It'll either go away on its own or I'll get inspired by something, same as always. Just gotta suck it up and deal with it until then." Mia pouted, coinciding with the appearance of a notification that soured Oliver's mood faster than milk left out in the sun.

Mia's mini profile popped up, and a padlock icon manifested over the third empty heart. Last time, the padlock had a little dumbbell representing his strength stat. This one had a small sparkle- the symbol for style.

[Mia's Third Heart Event Locked!]

"Ollie?"

"Huh?" Oliver hurriedly shook himself out of it. "Sorry. Lost my train of thought there. Would you mind giving me a second? I need to use the bathroom before Tessa gets here and starts drilling everyone."

"Free country," she shrugged. "Go for it."

Oliver darted off to the nearest restroom, hoping Mia didn't find his hasty retreat too suspicious. Once alone, he focused on the current predicament. Now wasn't a great time for a Heart Lock. Mia was right on the cusp of her third Heart Event, which probably would've happened later that day if this hadn't cropped up.

Luckily, Oliver still had 250LP left after his last purchase.

Should be more than enough to brute force my way through this, he figured.

Oliver didn't have much time to dig through his enormous skill menu, so he had to compromise. He'd buy enough style skills to raise his stat total to five, see if it cleared the lock, and buy some more later on if it didn't.

Common sense gave Oliver a good idea of how to solve this. Mia sought inspiration, and style being a key factor hinted he should probably offer himself as a model. The thought of doing so was embarrassing, but he wouldn't argue when the path forward was so straightforward.

If nothing else, at least I don't have to get punched this time...

To transform into Mia's muse, Oliver looked for style skills that would instantly make him more interesting to draw. Things like makeup or fashion knowledge wouldn't help, but a few options stood out. The first was similar to Massage in that he'd made a mental note of it a while ago, albeit for a different reason.

At the time, Oliver found it extremely funny that a skill called 'Vogueing' existed. His piss-poor creativity couldn't imagine a situation where posing like a fashion model would ever come in handy. Now look at him, feeling like an idiot with his finger on the 'buy' button.

I'll get up to level two of Vogueing, Oliver sighed. It feels like it's probably the most valuable skill in this specific scenario like Boxing was to the boxing match, so I might as well. Then, I'll pick out two other skills and only get their first level for now.   

Oliver did the thing.

[Skills Purchased! Vogueing Lv. 1+2 -75LP]

[Vogueing Lv. 2 | * | Style | If you've got it, flaunt it. Grants intermediate knowledge on the art of being professionally good-looking, teaching you how to strike a pose, run the catwalk, and hit 'em with your best Blue Steel. +1 to Style.]

Once the new information was done doing its thing, Oliver shrugged off the strange visions and focused on finding two other style skills to suit his needs. The ones he ultimately decided on were Smiling and Hairstyling. Both were straightforward, so he bought them and didn’t look back.

[Skills Purchased! Smiling Lv. 1, Hairdressing Lv. 1 -50LP]

[Smiling Lv. 1 | * | Style | Yes, smiling is a skill, and it’s one you’re currently bad at. Change this sad fact about yourself by gaining beginner knowledge on showing off your pearly whites. +1 to Style.]

[Hairstyling Lv. 1 | * | Style | Taking care of your hair is an art in and of itself. Gain beginner knowledge on the basics of proper mane maintenance and instantly know more about the topic than half the male population. +1 to Style.]

The biggest change Oliver experienced after these acquisitions was that he retroactively understood the tips Stacy and Jordan shared with him. Most of them flew straight over his head at the time, but not anymore. He looked at himself in the mirror and watered his hand, quickly working on his perm with what he had.

He then flashed his reflection a smile and struck a pose to test everything out.

Oliver cringed at the result. Maybe he did objectively look more stylish, but he couldn’t face his reflection without feeling embarrassed. If this was anything like what Mia described to him about what she saw in the mirror, he felt even more sorry for her than he already did.

Okay, embarrassing or not, I’ve got to push forward. I just need to go out there, bring up the idea of modeling, and see if it gets me past the lock. No big deal.

Conflicted about his purchases but refusing to back down, Oliver returned to the lounge and thanked God that Stacy still wasn’t here to see this. He approached Mia, who tilted her head when she saw him.

“…You do something with your hair while you were in there, mi amor?”

“I did,” Oliver pushed past the awkwardness and gave her one of his new smiles. “I noticed it was a little off and tried to fix it. Does it look all right?”

The sudden flash of his smile, coupled with the hair, hit Mia hard. Her heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks flushed. "I'd say so, yeah. Looking good today in general. Real good."

[Mia has gained +1 Affection!]

Sweet, that's a good sign. Just gotta bring it home now...

"You really think so?"

"Sí, is that so surprising?"

"No, it just gave me an idea. Do you think there might be any chance you'll snap out of your funk if I... I don't know, did a little modeling for you or something?"

"Mn. That's... an interesting proposal, mi amor. Might be worth a shot... so long as you think you can handle it? Gonna have to be ok with me staring at you for a long time. That, and be able to hold a pose."

Oliver forced himself to exude maximum confidence as he cut a subtle yet dramatic pose. He shifted his hips, leaning on his right leg while extending his left. One hand dug its thumb under his belt buckle, the other lazily ran its fingers through his hair.

"How hard could it be?" He asked, still smiling his heart out.

Mia's blush deepened as she lit up like a bonfire under the night sky. "...Not as hard as I thought, apparently. Thinking you'll do just fine. Maybe we can try it tonight after hanging out with Zoe?"

"Sounds great. I'd be happy to help!" Oliver said calmly, mentally pumping his fists in victory.

He caught Bradley giving him a thumbs up from the sidelines, where he was chatting up some unenthused coworkers. Oliver gave him a subtle nod before more notifications popped up, including the one he had hoped for.

[Mia has gained +3 Affection!]

[Heart Lock completed! Mia's second Heart Event enabled!]

Mia's mini profile popped up again, and the padlock shattered like he'd seen before. There was so little fanfare that he almost couldn't believe it happened. At least this meant that not every Heart Lock was some massive event like her first one. It also further reinforced his growing suspicions regarding his progression system.

Training his stats manually wasn't the primary way he was meant to solve problems. Unless tier one skills ever became more expensive, it was easier to just buy a bunch of them in a pinch and brute force it. All the more reason to stick with his plans to bond with all available heroines and hoard LP.

A voice called out to him that slightly shook Oliver's conviction.

"Well, well, well. Look at you, Champ. That hair? That pose? Someone's been doing their homework. Keep it up. You're getting more and more stylish by the day!" Stacy appeared on the scene with a fox-like smirk.

With everything else he had going on yesterday, Oliver still hadn't fully processed her apology. It meant something to him, though, and seeing genuine kindness in her deep, sapphire eyes changed things.

He didn't recoil from her mere presence like he used to. He fought against his shaken conviction and redoubled it, fortifying himself to face his first heroine not as an enemy but as an acquaintance.

"That's the idea," he shrugged. "Morning, Stacy."

"Morning, hon. So did you two enjoy your little day off together, or-" Stacy noticed Mia's collar and paused.

The awkward lovers blushed and looked away. His horniness made Oliver forget until now that ordering Mia to wear her special choker everywhere meant people would see him with his girlfriend and draw their own conclusions. It was almost as bad as wearing one of those matching shirts for pregnant couples where the woman's says she's stuffed with a little turkey and the man's says he made the stuffing.

Mia stood her ground, however. She crossed her arms and gave Stacy a sideways glance. "Just so happens we did. Got a problem with that, mn? Something you'd like to say?"

"No, no. Not at all. Cat got my tongue, that's all. Happens to the best of us."

Oliver closed his eyes, ashamed.

Mia audibly grumbled.

Amused, Stacy giggled to herself and suddenly leaned toward Mia, invading her personal space. Mia stepped back and blushed even harder, thanks to her... complicated feelings towards the busty blonde.

"You know, Mia, you and I should really hang out sometime..."

"The hell would I ever want to do that for, perra?"

"So I can teach you a trick or two," Stacy lifted Mia's chin, causing the meek Mexican to completely freeze up out of bisexual distress. "I'm sure it looked just fine back in front of your bathroom mirror, but you can still see the bite marks under the store's shitty fluorescent lighting. Right, Ollie?"

Oliver looked at Mia's neck and nearly died of embarrassment after noticing the makeup along with his. "Yeah," he confessed. "It's pretty hard to miss..."

Mia rapidly fluctuated between shame and irritation until she lowered her head and sucked up enough pride to ask, "...Can you fix this for me?"

"I don't exactly carry around a ton of makeup that goes with your skin tone," Stacy smiled sweetly. "But I can certainly do my best."

Before Mia could begrudgingly mumble so much as a thank you, the clock struck eight AM, and the big bad boss lady barged in. Wasting no time, Tessa sucked in a lungful of air and prepared to herd her sheep.

"All right, associates. Nothing much in the way of announcements for today, but I'm gonna need one of you to-" Tessa paused, squinting at a silver gleam across the room. Everyone stared at her while she gaped at Mia's collar, Oliver anxious that his stupid idea might've cost him and his girlfriend their jobs.

Tessa removed her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and sighed.

"...I bought myself a new desk and some bookshelves, and I'll give whoever assembles them a small bonus. The kicker's that I also need you to transfer the books over and drag the old shit out back. Any takers?"

A couple of Oliver's male coworkers almost raised their hands, but the world's best wingman had other plans. This seemed like it had potential, and since Oliver was currently too anxious to nominate himself... "My BEST friend, Oliver Chase, would be [Overjoyed] TO [Make Himself Useful]!"

"Is this true, Oliver?"

Damn it, Bradley...

Though mildly annoyed, Oliver rolled over and accepted his fate. "Sure is, boss."

"Fuck it, whatever... but not before I've had a word with you and your... partner," Tessa said. "Everyone else, get a move on. You know what to do."

Bradley shot Oliver a thumbs up and left with Stacy after she let Mia know she'd be waiting in the restroom. Oliver didn't return the gesture. Not this time.

Tessa walked to the nervous couple and stared straight at the collar. After a long, drawn-out silence, she followed up with a long, drawn-out sigh. "Kids, what the fuck am I looking at?"

Oliver tried to do the manly thing and defend his timid girlfriend, saying, "...A choker? Mia's worn one for ages now, you know that."

"Mia's last choker didn't have a fucking nametag and a clasp for hooking a leash, Oliver. Christ. It hasn't even been a week since you two got trapped in that truck together, and now you're showing up with this master-slave shit and bite marks on Mia's neck?"

Oliver shrank in place, failing and feeling very small about it.

"I'm sorry," Mia fumbled with the collar's clasp and also her words. "I just... it was a present from mi amor- er, Oliver, I mean, and wearing it makes me feel-"

"Stop, stop, stop. I didn't come here to tell you you had to take it off."

Oliver and Mia looked at each other and then at her.

"You didn't?" Mia asked.

"No. You know I generally don't give a shit about tattoos, dyed hair, jewelry, and what have you. The choker's just barely classy enough that I'll give it a pass-"

"It's real silver," Oliver thoughtlessly blurted.

Mia smiled. Tessa didn't.

"...Look, kids. It's great that you two are dating now, and I'm happy for you both. Really. The thing is, you're both still my employees, and that forces me to have this conversation with you. Let's just get it out of the way; don't give me a reason to be the villain. I don't want to be a hardass, but I will split you up if you make me. Is that clear?"

"Um. Yeah, totally. Mia?"

"Sí. Crystal."

"Wonderful. Thank you for being reasonable." Tessa sighed, relieved. "Now, then. I'm taking off to grab some coffee from somewhere nice, so I'll check on you as soon as I'm back, Oliver. Mia, go help one of the other teams with stocking shelves."

Tessa left through the lounge's backmost entrance, allowing the couple a moment alone to regroup. Unsurprisingly, they were both thinking the exact same thing.

"I can't believe we didn't get in trouble..." Oliver said.

"Same. Figured wearing the collar at work might be pushing it, but I still wanted to try."

"Sorry about the bite marks, by the way..."

"No big deal," Mia shrugged. "I'll see what Stacy says and get better at hiding them, so don't even think about holding back next time, sí?"

"Didn't plan on it for a second, kitten,"

"Good. Best to lay off the pet names for now, though. Wouldn't want to get in trouble with HR, would we?" She gave him a quick smirk, then patted him on the ass. "Get going, mi amor. Make that desk well enough, and maybe you'll impress the scary boss lady enough to earn more of your precious little satisfaction pings."

"I'm gonna give you a satisfaction ping if you don't stop teasing me about that," Oliver blushed.

"Sounds tempting. Maybe later tonight?"

Mia's smile gave Oliver some temptation of his own. He fell to its siren call, giving her a quick kiss in secret before separating from her to begin his work day. Hitting 'Manual' as soon as the notification popped up, Oliver started toward Tessa's office.

***

Stat Changes

Oliver Chase | Strength 9 | Style 5 | Spark 1 | Smart 2
Cash: $920 | LP: 125

Mia Rosas | Status: Girlfriend |93/100 | ❤❤♡♡♡